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NASB | Exodus 24:9 ¶ Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 24:9 ¶ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [the mountainside], |
Bible Question:
Ex 33:20 quotes God saying "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." Yet I find a number of verses that seem to be saying that His face has been seen. Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Gen 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Exd 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. I know that Scripture doesn't contradict itself. I'm rather hesitant about asking questions such as these because everyone on the forum seems to surpass me far and away with their knowledge of the Word, but I'd really like this explained. I would ask you to forgive me of my ignorance on this subject. I know there's a logical answer, I just can't seem to figure out what it is! I also have a second question. Sometimes it seems that the words Angel and the Lord are inter-changeable. For instance in Ex. 3:2 when Moses is before the burning bush it says "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed". I know that in Gal. 3:19 it states that the law was given through the mediation of angels and I don't fully understand that because I know it was God who spoke with Moses from the burning bush. Also, Gen. 18:1-22 has me confused as it seems to relate a visit from three men (angels) but the text seems to switch back and forth from the Lord speaking to Abram while the actual visitors seems to be the angels. Who was Abram entertaining in his tent that day? Thank you very much for your consideration of these questions. I read the forum daily for new questions and have learned much by reviewing prior threads. God bless any and all who responds to these questions. |
Bible Answer: Hello budderfligh, That's a very good question! Here's an answer in part from Hard Sayings on Ex. 24:9-11- "Did Moses and the Elders See God?" "The claim that Moses and his company “saw the God of Israel” appears to contradict the flat denials of such a possibility in texts such as Exodus 33:20. John 1:18 affirms that “no one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only [the only Son], who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Similarly, 1 Timothy 6:16 teaches that God is the one “who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” What are we to believe? Did some see God who is spirit and without form, or did they not? These passages surely look as if they contradict each other. The translators who compiled the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, were so concerned about any wrong connotations in Exodus 24:9 that they added “in the place where he stood” to the words “they saw the God of Israel.” There is no basis for such an addition, however, except the tendency of this translation to avoid any descriptions of God in terms that are used of human beings (the so-called antianthropomorphic trend of the LXX). Even though verse 10 clearly says that the leaders “saw the God of Israel,” the text does not go on to describe him, any more than did Isaiah when he saw Adonai exalted in the (heavenly) temple (Is 6). The verb used in verse 10 is used of seeing with one’s eyes. Only when we get to verse 11 is there a qualification, for it uses another verb that means “to see in a vision.” Moreover, despite the assertion that Moses and the leaders saw God, the description of what they saw is of what was at his feet, not the appearance of God himself. It could well be that the group was not given permission to lift their faces toward God, but saw only the pavement beneath his feet. Maybe that is what the Greek translators were attempting to get at when they added the above-mentioned phrase. When Moses asked to be shown the glory of God, he was refused on the grounds that humans cannot see the face of God and live (Ex 33:18–20). In the earlier text, since no request to see God’s glory is cited, we must assume that what Moses and his companions experienced was a theophany of the presence of God. Even what little they saw of the setting of God’s presence so humbled and awed them that they apparently flung themselves down in an act of obeisance. Hence, what they saw and reported was no higher than the level of the pavement. In spite of the uniqueness and unnaturalness of this experience, Moses and his companions were not harmed or disciplined by God; he “did not raise his hand” against them (Ex 24:11). But they did experience a special nearness to God as they partook together of a covenantal meal. We conclude that no one has ever seen God except the Son. What Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders experienced was the real presence of God and the place where he stood. When God is said to have shown his “back” or his “face” to anyone, it is an anthropomorphic usage—a description of God in terms used of humans so as to point to a definite reality, but only in ways that approximate that reality. God’s “back” suggests his disapproval, and his “face” suggests his blessing and smile of approval. In no sense can these terms be used to denote any shape or form of God. God remains unseen but mightily able to manifest the reality and majesty of his presence." [Walter C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Bible] I hope this helps, BradK |